A World Gone Odd
by ErinMilne
Summary: Otis is probably the smartest agent ever to join the ranks of Odd Squad. So much so that he didn't have to go to the Academy. But flying pizzas and dancing beach balls are not all he has to deal with; he must also navigate a rough emotional landscape, making his way through jealousy, betrayal, loss, and so much more. Will a transfer to a new Headquarters make for smooth sailing?
1. Chapter 1: A Tale of Two Freinds

_Knock knock knock._ "Now who could that be?" Otis asked aloud as he stood up from his desk. He didn't need to answer himself. He knew perfectly well who was at the door, just as he knew the answers to his recently-completed math homework. That was the thing about Otis; he was really smart. Smarter than many of the kids in his class. In fact, there was only one kid he knew who could even compete.

"How's it going, Otis?" Todd enthusiastically greeted his best freind of several years now.

Otis smiled slightly and replied, "Come on in, Todd."

Todd rushed into the house and automatically asked, "You recording _Nova_?"

"Yeah, I always record that show..."

"There's an ad you need to see. Come on!" Todd practically dragged Otis to the living room. Otis rolled his eyes in Todd's wake. Most of the time he enjoyed Todd's enthusiasm, but other times the guy could be a bit annoying.

Once they got the show playing, Otis was intruiged by the its topic, the canine brain. He took every single word that was spoken by the experts in like pine-scented air, watched the cartoony diagrams with enjoyment. He was thinking, _This is why I love this show..._

...when Todd tapped him on the shoulder. "Hey, here's that ad I was talking about! Pay attention!" Otis did as his freind advised and watched closely. The advertisement featured a girl in a purple buisness suit, sporting a golden badge, talking about an orginization called Odd Squad and encouraging kids to join. _The acting's pretty bad,_ Otis thought to himself. _I could do such a better job._

"We have to join this!" Todd exclaimed, shutting off the TV. "It's perfect for us. They need all the smart people they can get!"

Otis shook his head. "I dunno, Todd."

"What's the problem, then?'

We're pretty busy as is, you with your garden and me with gym and dance..."

"Come on, Otis!" Todd urged. "Think about it. This is our chance to make a difference in the world! We could fight odd, together!"

"Well, I guess I could find room..."

* * *

 _Dear Otis:_

 _First of all, this is NOT a fill-in-the-name letter. I wrote this myself, in order to congratulate you and welcome you to Odd Squad with open arms. You recieved a perfect score on your Odd Squad Academy enterance exams, something that has never been achieved by any agent, past or present. Therefore, we hereby invite you to skip the Academy and join Odd Squad as a full-fledged Investigation agent (you expressed preference for this department) in Precinct 24680. You will be expected to appear at Headquarters this coming Saturday._

 _Welcome to Odd Squad, Agent Otis._

 _Warmest regards,_

 _Big O_

Otis could hardly belive his eyes. A perfect score? The first-ever perfect score? He reread the letter just to make sure. Yep, it was still there: _You recieved a perfect score._ Todd wasn't going to belive his eyes either, Otis knew. He had to show this to him. He could imagine the reaction now...

* * *

"...oh. Well, ah, congrats, Otis." Todd's overly enthusiastic expression had vanished once he started reading the letter. That hadn't been the reaction Otis had expected.

"Didn't you get a letter? You're the smartest kid I know," Otis asked.

Todd answered, "Yeah, I got into the Academy... look, I gotta go. See you round..." Todd turned and left the room. Otis stood silently for a moment, looking in the direction his freind had gone.

It could have been a trick of light, but Otis could have sworn Todd's ice-blue eyes had flashed green.


	2. Chapter 2: An Agent's Life

**I am pleased to see people reviewing my first Odd Squad fic! If I haven't replied to you via PM, it's because you reviewed as a guest. So here's my replies now!**

 **Guest: Thanks for the feedback. Hmm, y'know, I might consider that. Sounds like a fun idea... Oscar would make a perfect C3PO ;)**

 **That one kid: You'll notice I chose not to let your review get posted. I don't really know what "lemon" means in regards to shipping, but it doesn't sound good. Plus, they are kids. Kids!**

 **Ravenpuff: Well thanks ;)**

 **Guest(s): I dunno, I'm not one for that angsty kind of fanfiction. Besides, Olympia wouldn't really ever give up! (And yes, Guest 2, I saw your pun. Cue the trombone...)**

* * *

Wearing his Odd Squad uniform for the first time, Otis stepped into Headquarters. He paused just past the doors from the relic room.

Everything was how he's imagined it to be. The desks, the lab, the meeting room, but most of all the atmosphere. Every agent seemed to know each other well, waving as they passed each other's desks or laughing in the Breakroom.

Otis was more than ready to become a part of this community. Now all he had to do was find his partner.

He looked around, but most of the other Investigation agents he could see were already in pairs. Except for one kid, near the back of the room. He sat alone at his desk, typing at his computer. _That must be my partner,_ Otis decided. He headed over to the empty desk.

"Hey, uh, are you Oswald?" Otis asked aloud.

The brown-haired kid looked up from his work. "Yeah, I am. You must be my new partner. Your name?"

"Otis. So, have you worked here for long?"

"About a year or so. My last partner, Orelei, and I started at around the same time. She just got promoted to Ms. O. I heard you just got out of the Academy?"

 _So he hasn't heard about my situation_ , Otis thought with some relief. "Something like that," he said aloud.

"So, yeah," Oswald finished. "Welcome to Odd Squad, although you've probably heard that a million times by now."

"A million and sixteen. I've been counting," Otis explained.

Oswald shook his head and said, "I can tell you and I are gonna get along great."

* * *

"You wanted to see us, Ms. O?" Otis routinely asked as he and Oswald entered the office. Oswald had requested that Otis be the one to say it, as he was still getting used to calling her by her title rather than her name.

"There you two are," Ms. O responded, curls bobbing as she stacked papers. "Something very odd has happened. You two know about the ballpoint pen collection in the town museum, right?"

Otis and Oswald both nodded their heads. Otis had seen the pens with Todd several times. _Actually, I haven't heard from Todd in a while..._

"Take a look at this," Ms. O continued, jerking Otis back into reality. With a press of a button on her universal remote, the painting behind her opened up into a video screen, It showed an image of the racks where the pens were usually kept, now filled with bananas. "You can't see it in this still," Ms. O continued, "but they're singing. "Feliz Navidad", I think. I need you to go to the museum and solve this case."

"Yes, ma'am," Oswald said hurriedly, standing up to go. Otis was about to follow his lead when Ms. O spoke again.

"I'm not finished! Some of the pens were also stolen. You'll need to figure out who's behind both crimes. So GO!"

"Man alive, she's got that yelling thing _down_ ," Oswald remarked as the partners made for the tube lobby.

* * *

"Ok, let's review the facts," Otis suggested. "Here we have a picture of the pens before - " Here he used his Odd Squad-issued tablet to reveal a picture of the pristine pen display. " - and after." He flicked his finger across the tablet, and the scene shifted to one of mostly bananas. Ms. O had been right - a lot of the bananas were singing "Feliz Navidad". However, Otis and Oswald had also noted "Ding Dong, The Witch is Dead" being sung, among other things.

"Did you notice any patterns in the pen display?" Oswald asked.

"Only about two thirds of the bananas were singing. The security guard said the problem started at around lunchtime today."

"And of the singing bananas, half were singing each song."

"Maybe the work of two different villains?"

"Could be. All the pens were numbered."

"I'd suggest we take a look at the security cameras."

"Good idea, partner." Oswald stood and headed for the museum's camera room. Otis followed him.

* * *

"...turns out it was a teamup," Otis related to Todd.

Todd didn't really look like he was paying attention. "Yeah, that's great."

Otis felt a little awkward. Wishing to change the subject, he inquired, "So how's Academy training going?"

"It's fine," Todd shrugged. "I can't believe the other kids in my training group, though. Ophelia and Oakley don't talk to me much, and Olive... She spends so much time scribbling in her notebook. Seriously, she carries that thing everywhere!"

"Not everyone is as smart as you are, Todd."

Todd said nothing, but turned and left.

 _It's just a phase,_ Otis reassured himself. _He'll get over it once he becomes an agent._

 _Hopefully._


	3. Chapter 3: Alone

**Guest: You're welcome, I suppose. You know what? Maybe I will do that...**

 **Ravenpuff: This is the kid who got a perfect score on his entrance exams. OF COURSE he can do that easily. And yes, you guessed what's going on correctly, although I won't say anything here.**

 **BenjaminFreeLife: I don't think you _quite_ grasp the idea of fanfiction. This is not meant to be an episode of Odd Squad.**

* * *

 _Let's see, Oswald and I did the report on the Friggle Frogs, got that Sherlock Room inventory taken care of, and..._

Otis's stomach rumbled.

 _...have not had lunch._

"I'm going to get some food at the Breakroom," Otis announced, standing up from his desk. "Want anything?"

Oswald looked up from his stack of paperwork. "Huh, what? Oh, I just had a snack. I'm good."

Otis shrugged and walked over to the Breakroom. He wasn't surprised that his partner hadn't offered to go with him. Lately, Oswald had been more and more absorbed in paperwork and less on socializing. Otis had never considered himself much of an extravert, but Oswald spoke even less than he did. _At least we manage to solve cases together,_ Otis reminded himself.

A platter of hot dogs greeted Otis at the Breakroom. Otis felt a smile - rare these days - creeping across his face. Hot dogs were his favorite. "Hot diggity dog," he said aloud.

"Hey, Otis! Haven't seen you in a while." Otis grabbed a hot dog and sat down next to Odie, a scientist at this branch of Odd Squad. During the course of Otis's employment, he and Odie had managed to strike up a relationship, since Otis was the one who usually went to the lab to pick up or drop off gadgets.

"Oswald and I have been pretty busy lately," Otis explained. "It's been case after case after case for us."

"I see. How'd that calendar-colander case go?"

"The Vowelswapinator did the trick."

"Glad to hear it. Actually, that was Orletsky's idea."

"He's been working you hard, hasn't he? I sometimes think he's borderline insane."

"We don't call him the Mad Scientist for nothing. Besides, he is tame compared to your partner. He's been up to his shoulders in paperwork these days."

"I know... and I thought I was antisocial."

"How long have you been partners for again?"

"Dunno. Time has flown. Maybe a year or so?"

"Oh." The expression on Odie's face changed drastically. "I don't know how to tell you this, but... I think you're being ignored on purpose."

"What?!" Otis nearly fell out of his chair. He could hardly believe his ears.

"Otis, I saw how Oswald and Orelei worked," Odie continued. "Those two were inseparable. They even had a secret handshake - which, might I add, is not a feature I notice with you and Oswald."

Otis shyly nodded his head. He still didn't want to think that Odie's words were true.

"Oswald misses being with Orelei - I can tell. You and he haven't clicked at all."

Otis pushed aside the rest of his hot dog, stood up, and left the Breakroom, a single tear glistening in the corner of his eye.

* * *

" _You've reached the voicemail of Agent Todd! Please leave a message!_ "

"Hi, Todd? It's Otis. You haven't answered my last 26 calls, so I was wondering... is anything wrong?

We used to be so close, Todd. We can be like that again."

The weight in his heart heavier than ever, Otis pressed the _End_ button.


	4. Chapter 4: Gadgets and Gizmos

**aliceine: I always thought of Otis as hiding a wounded heart, and I like writing angst like that ;) And thanks!**

 **Ravenpuff: Luck isn't gonna be enough... I've always been concise with this kind of thing.**

 **Alpha Kratt: I've been there, done that. And I'm glad you like my summary!**

 **TheySayImEvil: Nice moves!**

* * *

The door creaked open. Otis couldn't see anything but pure darkness inside. He was almost afraid to enter, but Todd had sent him an email saying to come to this address after work ended. "We need to talk," the coded text had said. It had taken Otis most of his no-casework time to decipher the code, so he figured Todd had something really important to tell him. Besides, they hadn't interacted in the longest time. Still, something about the setting Todd had chosen was throwing Otis off. Activating the flashlight function on his badge, Otis stepped into the dark room.

"Hello?" he called, his voice echoing through the darkness. "Todd? Are you here?"

A wild cackle cut through the darkness, and the lights suddenly flipped on. Otis covered his eyes with one hand and flicked off the flashlight with the other, momentarily blinded. When he uncovered his eyes, there stood Todd. The Odd Squad uniform he was wearing fit him well, and his hair was impeccably combed as usual, but something about him seemed off. Maybe the laugh had startled him (which was weird in itself; Otis didn't usually startle easily), or maybe he was just nervous from the setting.

"Otis! How nice of you to have made it!" Todd had a grin a mile wide on his face as he emphatically shook the hand of a very confused Otis. "It's so good to see you again..."

"I tried to reach out, Todd," Otis argued, but Todd held out a hand to stop him. "Ah ah ah! We have so much to talk about, and so little time! Please, come with me..." The lights flicked off again, and Otis felt Todd's hand grabbing his own in a surprisingly strong grip. Had he been working out?

Something was going on, Otis knew. Nevertheless, he followed his freind deeper into the darkness.

Before he knew it, Otis was tied to a hard wooden chair in a blindingly white room. The splinters in the chair were digging into his back uncomfortably, and Otis had to squint to see anything. Once his eyes finally adjusted to the bright light, Otis saw Todd waving some kind of gadget in front of his face. It didn't look like anything Odie had shown him. Probably something newly invented by Todd's branch of the Squad.

"Know what this is, Otis?" asked Todd quietly.

"It's a gadget," Otis answered. "A new one."

"That's right. Say hello to my newest invention - the Forgetinator."

"Wait - _your_ latest invention? You're not a scientist."

"I can invent gadgets if I want to? I thought you were the smart one... Anyway, I'm going to zap you with this when all this is over. Right now it's on the lowest setting, so you won't remember this event. I increase the setting, you forget the past week. Full blast, and you lose every last one of your personal memories!" Todd let out the cackle again, and Otis winced. "Now, the less you say, the better this will end for you. Do you understand?"

Otis nodded weakly, but his mind was going a million miles per hour. Why was Todd acting like this? What did he want? When had this started? What kind of knot had Todd used to tie him to the chair? How long would it take him to escape?

"Good. Now, I've been hitting a rough patch solving cases, see. My partner Olive - she spends half of our case time scribbling in her notebook, and still she gets the answers before me! So, I'm going to need a little help from..."

"..the Odd Squad manuel," Otis finished. "Todd, I can't do your work for you. I have my own cases to solve, remember?"

"Oh, but surely you can help your best pal out! You managed to get a perfect score on those entrance exams, while I had to work my rear off at the Academy with those know-nothing kids!"

"So this is what this is all about? You're just jealous?"

"Stop interrupting my monologues, okay?! Will you help me or not?"

Otis finally managed to free himself. Standing up, he told Todd, "Absolutely not," grabbed the Forgetinator from Todd's hands, and ran. The door to the room was unlocked, so Otis opened it and dashed out into the hallway, hoping to find an exit into daylight. Behind him, he heard Todd's pounding feet and shouts of "You won't get away so easily!" This was mostly drowned out by Otis's own pounding heart. Otis tried to open door after door, but most of them were locked or led to closets.

Turning through hallway after hallway, Otis heard Todd's footsteps grow fainter and fainter. _I lost him_ , he thought with relief. Adding to his relief was a door at the very end of the hallway that seemed like it opened to the outside! Otis raced towards the door, heart growing lighter with every step...

...until suddenly, Otis felt himself caught in the beam of a gadget. He dropped to all fours, pain searing through his body. His skin felt like millions of tiny needles were forcing their way up from underneath it. His face morphed until he could see his own nose - a long, black-and-white muzzle. Otis looked around to see Todd, holding a different gadget.

"Doginator. And if you want me to use the Undoginator, I suppose you'll have to help me."

Otis's newly formed tail drooped between what had, only seconds ago, been his only pair of legs.


	5. Chapter 5: Ressurection

**Ravenpuff: That's an interesting way of putting it, but every good story needs an evil villain, right? And, yes, I also want to see this performed.**

 **Sasha: Hey, thanks! ;)**

 **Guest: I am mostly writing from the seat of my pants, so I didn't see that coming, either, hehe...**

* * *

Otis was on the brink of tears. Ever since Todd had dragged him away from everything he held dear - his position, his friends, even his life at home - he had been working with him nonstop, day in and day out. There was still the hope that Todd would pull out the Undoginator eventually, but that hope was growing more and more dim with every passing day. Todd's current lair, an abandoned warehouse, was his "home" - more like a prison. He'd given up escape attempts long ago, as Todd had invented painful new gadgets.

And alongside the physical ordeal, Otis had to struggle to maintain his human consciousness. There had been several moments where he, close to giving up, had felt his human logic slip away, only to be replaced by the animal instincts of the creature whose body he inhabited. Todd would never forgive him if his mind, the only thing keeping him relatively safe at this point, was destroyed.

"Agent Otis will take it from here..."

Otis let out the dog equivalent of a sigh, but padded over to where Todd and his partner, Olive, stood with the bone-shaped Shapeshifter. _I don't even like bones_ , he couldn't help thinking. _Dry and flavorless._ He gripped the bone in his mouth, straining to keep his head aloft. The Shapeshifter was barely heavy enough to handle, even as a bone. Todd saved him by grabbing the Shapeshifter, but added a condescending pat on the head. Otis was seriously tempted to give Todd a bite.

A smirking Todd waltzed toward the tube enterance, but Olive and Otis hung back. The brown-haired girl glanced at Otis with fearful eyes. "I didn't know Todd had a dog," she said to the park.

 _He doesn't_ , Otis thought. _He has a kid trapped in a dog's body. A slave, essentially. And yet you still trust him..._

Olive walked over to Otis, dropping to his level. "Something tells me you're no ordinary dog," she said.

 _Listen to that something._

"I guess I should take you home. I know where Todd lives."

 _That's not home._

"All right. Let's go..." Olive stood nervously, as if expecting something - or someone - to hop out of the bushes at any second. Considering who she had as a partner, Otis didn't blame her.

* * *

"Huh... I wouldn't have expected Todd to leave his door unlocked," Olive noted as she and Otis entered the quiet house.

 _Neither did I_ , thought Otis. _Has he gotten careless? That's unlike him._

And then he noticed it.

Right there. On this hall table. Gadget number 172.

The Undoginator.

Otis propelled his front paws onto the table, but the gadget was too far away from the edge for him to reach with those paws or his mouth. Olive hurried over, concern in her eyes. "What is it, boy?" she asked.

Otis frantically indicated the gadget, whining a little. Olive picked it up and handled it. "Huh..." she said to herself. "I never realized Todd was making gadgets..."

Otis started to bark, begging Olive to zap him with the gadget and return him to his true form. Olive looked from side to side, clearly unsure of what to do. Finally, Otis leaped on her. In her panic, Olive accidentally fired the Undoginator.

There was a flash of light, and Otis heard the sound of a giant piece of fabric ripping itself in half. When he opened his eyes, he could see his hands pressed against Olive's chest. _His hands_. He gasped a little, amazed by his longed-for retransformation.

Olive screamed.

Otis scrambled off of Olive and somehow managed to get to his feet, a disorienting sensation after having been going around on all fours for Odd-knows-how-long. He knew he needed to calm Olive down, but had absolutely no experience in that regard.

"Who are you?" Olive whimpered, inching towards the exit.

Otis kept his voice calm and quiet. "Olive, it's fine," he assured her. "It's me. Agent Otis."

Olive shook her head. "How did you..."

"I was Todd's best friend," Otis explained. "I got into the Squad before he did, and he got jealous. He's been using me for months - I haven't been able to report to the Squad I work at, or see my other friends, or anything." He chuckled slightly. "Ms. O is gonna kill me."

"Tha... that's horrible... you poor thing..." Olive looked on the verge of tears. Out of nowhere, she launched herself at Otis and engulfed him in a hug to end all hugs. A single tear forming in his own eye, Otis was all too happy to return the hug.

* * *

As they talked, it became clear to Otis that Olive was much more than the scribbling simpleton Todd had painted her as. She was a tryer, that much was clear, and she loved working at Odd Squad with all her enormous heart. The only thing preventing her from being a potential Ms. O, in his mind, was her lack of self-confidence. She was convinced that Todd was a better agent than she would ever be, but after hearing Otis's full story, she was beginning to doubt this.

They talked for so long that shadows began to fall across Todd's living room floor. Otis was the first one to stand up. "Well, guess I'd better find the Doginator," he said with a resigned sigh.

Olive looked at Otis with a confused expression. "You're going to willingly put yourself through that torture again?"

"If Todd realizes I found the Undoginator, I'm as good as dead."

Olive shook her head, brown corkscrews bouncing as she stood. "You need to lay low for a while," she explained. "If what you've said is true, then you can't go back to the Squad, not after all this time. You'd be fired on the spot."

An idea popped into Otis's head. It wasn't a very good idea, in his opinion, but he felt he should at least suggest it. "Maybe..." he started. "Maybe I could stay with you for a while? I'd just need enough time for everyone to forget about me, then reapply to the Academy."

Olive stared silently.

"Please? This is my only chance."

"Well, I guess we could try it."

"Thank you so much, Olive."

"You're welcome, Otis."

The two agents smiled gratefully at each other.


End file.
